Hip Hop Culture: Its Role and Impact on the Creation of Sexual Abusers - Essay Example

?Hip Hop Culture: Its Role and Impact on the Creation of Sexual Abusers In wanting to fit in, teenagers engage in things, which could have been forbidden. Gone were the days, where teens value themselves through morality because what it is in, at this moment, is sexual pleasure. For instance, in the book written by Tracy Denean Sharpley-Whiting entitled “Pimps Up, Ho’s Down: Hip Hop’s Hold on Young Black Women” (2007) exposed to what degree hip hop music turned into an avenue to expressing how black women were becoming objects of sexual desires. In particular, the goal of the author was not to describe hip hop music or sexism, but to relate hip hop culture with the behavior of black women, especially in their response to the superiority of the black men. The book is a revelation of the worsening case of gender politics. Equally important, the Motivational Education Entertainment (MEE) Productions, Inc., a firm that specializes in research about urban and ethnic groups, also performed a study regarding the views of the Black urban youth on intimacy or sexual activity. The study was titled “This is My Reality: The Price of Sex: An Inside Look at Black Urban Youth Sexuality and the Role of the Media.” MEE was able to provide a picture of the present day value of sex to the black urban youth, who seems to have become unmindful of the consequences of sex. Apparently, the impact of hip hop culture to the lives of the younger generation has reached the point of affecting their relationship with the self, family, friends, and society. Hip hop is not only a trend, but a culture that is influencing the lifestyle of today’s younger generation. Thus, to a certain extent, because of its profound impact on the lifestyle of the young blacks hip hop culture created sexual abusers. The impact of hip hop culture on the lives of the African American youths is indeed profound to the extent that it is affecting their views about sex and relationships. In particular, the messages that are inflicted in hip hop music are often condemned because of expressing misogyny, or hatred towards women. Hence, the lyrics of hip hop music in it have encouraged the abuse of African American women through words that destroy their image in the society. The abuse of women has continued through the years, and this time not only through words but sexually and emotionally. The world sees movies that show Black women in strip clubs, and the adult entertainment industry obtains profit from this type of dirty business (Sharpley-Whiting 12). More and more men feed their illusion by making women object of sexual abuse. The worsening case of sexual abuse is already being manifested in the things people see in television or hear on the radio. With hip hop music going mainstream, it is no wonder why many adolescent black females are involved in sexual relationships (MEE 23), sexual relationships that bring them to the abuses of men at an early age. Males call their female sexual partners as the shorty while they call their other partner the wifey whom they consider for a long-term relationship (MEE 26). Thus, if one is the shorty better yet expect nothing more than sex. Apparently, hip hop is nowadays more than just a musical genre, for it has become a catalyst of change that influenced the black males to feeling that they are more superior compared to women and that women, at present, are vulnerable and easily deceive by their false promises. In relation to the abuses encountered by young black women in the society, sexual violence, sexism, beat downs, sexual dishonesty and anti-lesbianism are some of the challenges that these women have to deal with in everyday life (Sharpley-Whiting 12). These female difficulties reflect how young black women are being maltreated by some men. However, because of the emergence of hip hop culture, these difficulties were made to appear as if it were a normal part of life (Sharpley-Whiting 12). The “patriarchal and misogynistic notions of manhood and masculinity combined with racism” are seen to influence the manner of how men communicate with the society, and most importantly with women (Sharpley-Whiting 12). With these interactions, the sexually charged nature of male-female relationships came into being, which incited the “sexual abuse of young black women” (Sharpley-Whiting 12). In the course of time, young black women and their alleged “voluntary participation in sex escapades” are being exposed with hip hop culture spreading quickly through the different forms of mass media. Young black women became the so called groupies who take part as pimps in the entertainment industry, convenient and disposable as the wet wipes people use. Evidently, the stereotyping of young black women as pimps is a violation to their right of just treatment in society. The worst impact of this stereotyping is felt, not only by the present generation, but also the future generation. Therefore, the perception of the young black males to women will be confined to being object of sexual desires and abuses. Engagement in sexual activities among the young black women is becoming a normal part of their teenaged life. As a result, some men take advantage of the situation and make women object of their sexual fantasies instead of making them worthy of respect. Some women see this as an advantage, for them to receive their material wants (MEE 25), although this act is degrading them. In return, men see this as an opportunity to influence women as they see them as weak and easily deceived. At some point, young women engage in intimate relationships with older men in exchange for some money to buy clothes (MEE 25). On the other hand, older men would grab the chance to sleep with younger women, despite their material demands, to satisfy their manly needs. This deal is one reason why there is sexual abuse. Because the moment a woman enters into this kind of relationship, it would be hard to get out of the mess. There is no chance a woman may refuse to have sex with the older man because he had given her the material things she asked in exchange for herself. The worst form of sexual abuse that a woman may experience is being raped. Because young black women are being type casted as flesh peddlers, they become prone to physical and emotional abuses that make them helpless. In particular, hip hop as a musical expression has gotten beyond expressing freedom and music and is now the most effective medium to show the world that young black women are easy to get. Hence, if a woman refuses to the requests of a man, it will be the source of oral arguments or physical abuses. In their early teenage years, young black men are exposed to a type of culture that has a role in shaping their personality; in other words, early exposure to hip hop culture may also be one reason why they deem women the same way hip hop music describes them. The issue of sexual abuses like rape enters the scene as these young black males engage in early teenage relationships. Growing in a misogynistic environment, where women usually receive no respect, the minds of these young black men may be poisoned by facts about women that will provoke them to become harsh. Later on, the inclination of the young black men to sexual pleasure through hip hop music is likely to influence their treatment to their future female partners. In return, young black women get into their culture (Sharpley-Whiting 10) by making out with their partners. While some young black women do not refuse to engage in such passionate acts, there are other women who become abused by some black men. Hence, young black women, in hip hop culture, are often dominated by men thereby leading to their abuse (Sharpley-Whiting 10). Hip hop culture receives plenty of attention because, for the Black youths, it is a means to express themselves. Even if, they do not want hip hop culture to look bad, unfortunately, that is how the society sees it. On the other hand, women deserve to be treated well by men, but this does not mean that the two are unequal. The important thing is that men will recognize the value of women in their lives, for them to realize that they are not objects, who can be used in any way they want. The hip hop culture is not the main reason why sex is being turned a tool to abuse the rights of women. However, hip hop culture has influenced Black men and women to think that sex can be done at any moment, even without commitment, or even if the other are already committed. Hip hop culture is used in the wrong way, and this led to the misconception of hip hop culture being a creator of sexual abusers. If only hip hop music videos did not display girls dancing in strip clubs, or men surrounded by women in their sexy clothes, it would not be considered one reason why sexual abusers existed. Works Cited Motivational Education Entertainment. This Is My Reality: The Price of Sex: An Inside Look at Black Urban Youth Sexuality and the Role of the Media. Philadelphia: MEE, 2004. Print. Sharpley-Whiting, Tracy D. Pimps Up, Ho's Down: Hip Hop's Hold on Young Black Women. New York: New York University Press, 2007. Print. Read More